Parke County lies in the western part of the U.S. state of Indiana along the Wabash River. The county was formed in 1821 out of a portion of Vigo County. According to the 2010 census,the population was 17,339,an increase of 0.6% from 17,241 in 2000. The county seat is Rockville.
Lucius Lyon was a U.S. statesman from the state of Michigan. Along with Louis Campau,Lucius Lyon is remembered as one of the founding fathers of Grand Rapids,Michigan,the state's second-largest city. A Democrat,he served as a Delegate to the U.S. House from Michigan Territory (1833-1835),a U.S. Senator from Michigan (1837-1839),and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's second congressional district (1843-1845).
Thomas Morris was an American politician from Ohio who served in the United States Senate and was a member of the Democratic Party. In the 1844 presidential election,he was the vice presidential nominee of the anti-slavery Liberty Party.
John Milton Niles was a lawyer,editor,author and politician from Connecticut,serving in the United States Senate and as United States Postmaster General 1840 to 1841.
Herschel Vespasian Johnson was an American politician. He was the 41st Governor of Georgia from 1853 to 1857 and the vice presidential nominee of the Douglas wing of the Democratic Party in the 1860 U.S. presidential election. He also served as one of Georgia's Confederate States senators.
Lt. Noah Beauchamp was a blacksmith and an Indiana pioneer. He was also the first person to be legally hanged in Parke County,Indiana,after murdering his neighbor,George Mickelberry,over a dispute.
Charles Anderson Wickliffe was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. He also served as Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives,the 14th Governor of Kentucky,and was appointed Postmaster General by President John Tyler. Though he consistently identified with the Whig Party,he was politically independent,and often had differences of opinion with Whig founder and fellow Kentuckian Henry Clay.
Ratliff Boon was the second Governor of Indiana from September 12 to December 5,1822,taking office following the resignation of Governor Jonathan Jennings' after his election to Congress. A prominent politician in the state,Boon was instrumental the formation of the state Democratic Party,and he supported President Andrew Jackson's policies during his six terms representing Indiana in the United States House of Representatives.
Paris Chipman Dunning was a Democratic state representative,state senator,senate president pro tempore,the tenth Lieutenant Governor,and the ninth Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from December 26,1848,to December 5,1849. He is the only person to hold to every elected seat in the state government under the 1816 constitution. His brief term as governor was marked by the calling of a state constitutional convention and overshadowed by the national anti-slavery debate,where Dunning urged state leaders to issue and forward resolutions to Congress expressing opposition to the expansion of slavery. As a delegate to the subsequent convention,he successfully advocated legislative and educational reform. As the American Civil War broke out,he left the Democratic party and declared for the Union,personally raising many companies of soldiers for the war effort. He returned to the state senate during the war,and then resumed his law practice after his term ended. He remained popular in the state,and declined several nominations to run for office after retiring from politics.
James Fisk was an American politician from Vermont. He served in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
Charles William Cathcart was a United States Representative and Senator from Indiana. He was born in Funchal,Madeira Island,Portugal where his father,James Leander Cathcart was the United States Consul;he travelled to Spain with his parents,attended private schools,and returned to the United States in 1819 and went to sea. He moved to Washington,D.C. in 1830,and was a clerk in the General Land Office. He moved to Indiana and was justice of the peace at New Durham Township in 1833. He engaged in agricultural pursuits near La Porte in 1837,was a United States land surveyor,and was a member of the Indiana Senate from 1837 to 1840.
Thomas Francis Marshall was a politician and lawyer from Kentucky. He was the nephew of John Marshall.
James Cameron Allen was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.
Edward Wilson McGaughey was a U.S. Representative from Indiana.
John Givan Davis was a U.S. Representative from Indiana.
Samuel Galloway was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.
Armiesburg is an unincorporated community in Wabash Township,Parke County,in Indiana.
Joseph Albert Britton (1839–1929),most commonly known as J.A. Britton,was a builder of bridges in Indiana. He created many works that survive and are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Addison Locke Roache was a Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 3,1853,to May 8,1854.
